The Trade
by twistedreality
Summary: Ash has the perfect life. When his lookalike wants to switch places for him, he finds himself in a completely different world. This is an old fic of mine. Please Read/Review! Flames are welcome.
1. Something Brewing

The Trade  
  
By TwistedReality  
  
Ages for this fic are as follows:  
Ash-12  
Scott-12  
Misty-13  
Brock-17  
  
  
A/N Ash and co. will be in the next chapter  
  
Chapter One "Something Brewing"  
  
This chapter doesn't feature Ash and co, but they'll be there in  
chapter two. This is just a chapter to meet Eljiro.  
  
***  
  
The curtains were closed, only allowing a thin beam of light to  
escape from behind the massive folds of dull colored cloth. The room  
seemed untouched by any light, as a darkness showed with every aspect  
of the room.  
  
There was a lamp on the dresser next to the bed, but it was covered  
with a thick layer of dust. A few cobwebs were even covering the base  
of the lamp.  
  
The room seemed to have no life in it, but at the center of the room,  
a pale and sickly boy lay in his bed, coughing. His black hair went  
all the way to his shoulders, uncut and untended, until it was just a  
large mass of tangles.  
  
The boy didn't really care much about his appearence though, because  
it was a rare occurence if he ever left the bed, and an even rarer  
occurence if he even looked at the mirror.  
  
Softly, he stirred as he tried to sit up slowly. It was almost time  
for dinner, and he needed to sit up enough to be able to eat his  
food without choking. His sense of timing without a clock had been  
fine tuned by two years of staying in bed.  
  
The action of sitting up caused pain to shoot through his whole body  
as he reajusted his body to sitting posistion, but he didn't cry out.  
The pain had become a part of his life through to constant reoccurance  
of it.  
  
There was a swift knock on the door as an old woman came in through  
the door. She was large, and was rather strong for a woman her age.  
In fact, she looked to be in her fifties, even though she had  
certainly surpassed her sixties.  
  
"Hello, grandmother." he said stiffly, without carrying the affection  
that was supposed to come with the word.  
  
The old lady just silently placed the tray of food in the boy's lap.  
For a second, the boy just looked up at the old lady, as though he  
needed instruction on what he was supposed to do.  
  
"Eat, Scott." the woman said irratably, very annoyed. She knew the  
boy did this on purpose as a small act of rebellion.  
  
Scott obeyed, eating silently, as he slowly brought the ramen to his  
lips.  
  
"Eat faster." the old woman said with a sharp edge to her voice.  
  
Scott knew that he had pushed the woman too far, as he started to  
obey her, without leaving any essence of rebellion.  
  
After ten minutes, Scott had finally finished his dinner, and the  
woman left, after staying silent for the whole ten minutes.  
  
***  
  
Boredom was one of the biggest problems in Scott's life. He had often  
asked his grandmother (How he shuddered to think of that..woman..as  
his grandmother!) to bring books to his room, but she would never  
comply with his wishes, argueing that reading books would only bring  
"foolish and unattainable dreams" in his head. He never recieved any  
reading material besides the news magazine he occasionally recieved as  
a way to appease him somewhat.  
  
It seemed to work because after he recieved the first issue of the  
magazine, he stopped begging for books to read, although he still  
wished for them just as strongly.  
  
Scott sighed as he picked up the latest issue from the nightstand  
next to him. He had just recieved it, so he hadn't read through it  
again and again as he always did by the end of the week.  
  
He randomly flipped through the articles, trying to see if any  
interesting ones would catch his attention. He almost immediately  
came to a photo of a deleriously happy boy. Under the photo was the  
caption: "Ash Ketchum becomes the Youngest Trainer to Win Both the  
Johto and Orange Leagues."  
  
Scott wasn't paying much attention to the caption, after he read it,  
or even the article. The photo did hold his interest, however.  
Scott's hands shook as he almost dropped the magazine. "Oh my God.."  
he whispered, "he looks just like..me.." His voiced quivered at the  
last word.  
  
Ignoring his sleepiness, Scott began to read through the article  
feverishly. He couldn't believe it as he continued to read through  
the article for the second time.  
  
He felt nearly overwhelmed when he read the article over and over.  
*It's like his life is a complete..opposite..from mine* he thought,  
trembling.  
  
It seemed like almost a paradox to him that somebody who looked like  
him could enjoy the wonderful life that he could only dream of.  
  
After two hours of being fully immersed in the article, Scott  
silently put down the magazine.  
  
He felt curiousity and...something else..but he couldn't put his  
finger on it.  
  
He took one last glance at the photo in the magazine and grinned to  
himself in satisfaction. *I will find out more information on this Ash  
Ketchum*  
  
That was his last thought as he slid under the covers and fell asleep  
instantly, not even noticing the pain for the first time in a long  
while.  
  
***  
  
Ugh!! I finally finsished this part! Whew..! Well, there'll be more  
of Ash and Co in the next chapter..which is posted um...now.. 


	2. More Than Intuition

The Trade  
  
by TwistedReality  
  
A/N I think Pikachu is a girl. Even if you don't believe me, I'm referring to  
Pikachu as a she, so there! (sticks out tongue immaturely)  
  
  
Chapter Two "More Than Intuition"  
  
Misty Waterflower yawned and stretched as she tried to rub the  
sleepiness from her eyes. She hadn't gotten very much sleep last night  
because Ash had tripped over the cooking pot while Brock was making  
some spaggetti. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, unless she counted  
Pikachu shocking Ash several times for his klutziness. It did take  
awhile to clean the mess, while Brock had to start over with a new  
dinner.  
  
She groaned in annoyance when she saw that Ash was the only one still  
asleep. Suddenly, a devilish smile came to Misty's face.  
  
"Oh, Pikachu..." she said, with mischief in her voice.  
  
"Pika?" the pokemon asked in confusion, wondering what Misty would  
want.  
  
Misty wordlessly pointed at Ash, trying not to laugh at what she was  
planning.  
  
Pikachu looked up at her, then Ash. They both shared a smile of  
mischief. Pikachu chuckled inwardly. She was going to enjoy this...  
  
Ash suddenly screamed in pain when he recieved a shock of several  
volts of electricity to his system. Normally, when he was awake, he  
had grown so accustomed to Pikachu's thundershocks that he only felt  
a slight pain when he was shocked, but when he was asleep, his system  
was never quite prepared for the sudden rush of electricity. This  
resulted in a very painful way to wake up.  
  
Misty giggled when she saw Ash jump to his feet the instant that  
Pikachu looked she was going to shock him again. "I'm up! I'm  
up!" Ash said quickly.  
  
He looked down and saw Misty laughing. Ash tried to preserve the rest  
of his dignity by walking away as if the incident never happened.  
  
Misty and Pikachu decided that they had enough fun with Ash, and they  
went to join him in eating breakfast.  
  
***  
  
Misty sighed. Ash had gotten them lost again, because he had ignored  
her when she told him that he was holding the map upside-down.  
  
She was about to point out that they were lost again because of Ash's  
stupidity, but she suddenly stopped.  
  
She had seen a flash of something. No, seen wasn't the correct word.  
She felt something. It had only lasted a millisecond, and she thought  
she knew what it was for the moment, but the knowledge was gone as  
quick as the flash.  
  
She was about to dismiss it, and continue on with her comment, when  
the flash appeared again. This time it lasted a few seconds.  
  
It was Ash. He looked the same, only his hair was longer.  
  
"Ash..your..your..hair..." she said quietly.  
  
Ash turned to her in confustion. His hair was its normal length again.  
"What's wrong with my hair?" Ash asked with a little embarrassement in  
his voice.  
  
Misty was lost on what to say. She couldn't exactly tell Ash that she  
had seen his hair suddenly look longer. It sounded too crazy, even to  
her. "Its...uh..uh.." she stammered.  
  
Ash realized that he wasn't going to get a straight explanation from  
Misty and he turned to Brock, silently asking him what was so wrong  
with his hair that it would suddenly have Misty flustered.  
  
"There's nothing wrong with your hair." Brock said, sending a puzzled  
look to Misty.  
  
Misty sighed, knowing that she was going to have to make up something.  
"Its...uh..." Misty began, searching her mind for something mean to  
say about Ash's hair, so her comment would seem normal. "Why don't you  
ever comb it?!" she said loudly. Misty knew that it was weak, but she  
hoped it would work.  
  
Ash and Brock just shrugged, as they continued walking. She could hear  
Ash mutter "girls," under his breath.  
  
Misty couldn't ignore that comment. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY, ASH  
KETCHUM?!" Misty cried, with her head looming over Ash.  
  
"Uh...nothing..?" Ash said meekly.  
  
"Good answer." Misty said, with her head back to its normal size.  
  
***  
  
Scott yawned as he sorted through old copies of his news magazines.  
He had come across a few articles about Ash winning the orange league,  
and a few mentions about him when he stopped team rocket a few times.  
  
As he read more and more of the articles, he only grew more curious   
about Ash Ketchum and his travels.  
  
However, the most wonderful part about Ash Ketchum's life was  
something that he had never even imagined having in his own life.  
  
His two traveling companions. His two friends. He had seen an article  
in a magazine that contained a group photo with Ash, Brock and Misty.  
He instantly recognized the gym leaders even before reading the  
article that came with the group photo. Gym leaders were almost like  
celebrities to the press.  
  
Scott's heart thudded harder when he saw the picture of Misty. She  
was beatiful. Her face. Her beautiful green eyes. Everything. She  
was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.  
  
Scott seethed when he stared at his lookalike, smiling with a  
pikachu on his shoulder.  
  
He knew that Ash never could appreaciate her the way he did.  
  
Then a great surge of anger came to Scott's heart, as he thought of  
Ash Ketchum with a sudden hatred. Scott's eyes narrowed. He wanted to  
tear up the picture of Ash in rage and frustration.  
  
It was almost ironic that Scott could hate an image of someone who  
looked exactly like him. Scott didn't really consider the irony as he  
seethed at the photo, allowing the hate to grow stronger and stronger.  
  
He doesn't deserve his wonderful life, Scott decided, gritting his  
teeth.  
  
Scott could see the mirror, hanging on the wall over his dresser. The  
image only brought more rage into his heart as he stared at the image  
that looked so much like Ash.  
  
Suddenly, the mirror shattered, and Scott smiled.  
  
***  
  
This is an old fic that I decided to clean the cobwebs out of and complete,  
but I'll work on the next part-when I'm NOT working on Ash and Misty's Love,  
or my writer's block fic...well, um bya! Please read/review, even if it is  
just to flame me. 


	3. Powers Growing

The Trade 

A/N: Sorry for the long time without an update.

The chapter before is kind of outdated since he didn't really win the Johto league, but I already had this chapter written, and everything outlined, so.  
meh.

Chapter 3 "Powers Growing"

"Ash..." a voice whispered, softly. Ash could feel a light tapping on his shoulder.

"lee me 'lone.." he mumbled, turning over on his side.

Ash could hear an exasperated sigh from the person who had tapped him on the shoulder.

"Ash..if you don't wake up now, I'll do something you'll regret!" a voice whispered fiercely. He could tell just by the tone of the voice that it was Misty.

"Okay..okay.." Ash muttered, yawning tiredly. He sat up, and he suddenly realized that it was still dark out. "Misty! What time is it?!!" he cried out in annoyance.

"It's three in the morning," Misty tried to say offhandedly so Ash wouldn't get too upset.

"Wake me up later." Ash said, climbing back into his sleeping bag.

Misty glared, her face growing red. "Ash! Get up! Don't you care about what I have to say to you?!" Misty yelled into his ear.

The boy immediately sat up at loud yelling in his ear. "Aah! Misty! Stop yelling!" he whined.

"I warned you." Misty said with a superior smirk on her face.

Ash decided to let that comment go as he stood up and stretched. "What is it, Misty?" he asked with an impatient tone of voice.

"I...I just wanted to talk to you.." Misty said, realizing that it would be stupid to tell him that she woke him up because of some stupid nightmare she had.

Ash tried to suppress a blush at Misty wanting to talk to him so badly. "About what...?" he managed after a moment of silence.

Misty was trapped. She had to talk to him about something if she didn't want Ash to think she was crazy for waking him up so early.

"I just had a bad dream.." Misty surrendered, unable to find a better excuse.

"About what?" he asked again.

About you Misty answered in her head, but she wasn't going to say it out loud.

"I was being chased by a rhydon.." Misty lied.

Ash looked confused. Misty woke him up just because she had a nightmare about a rhydon?

"So?" Ash asked, not in the best possible mood.

"Well, wouldn't that scare you?" Misty asked, trying to make a save.

"Uh..I guess so...but..." Ash trailed off, frustrated because he was getting too tired to reason. "Can't we just talk about this in the morning?"

Misty sighed and slumped her shoulders. "I guess so..." she mumbled, feeling disappointed that Ash was too incoherent to talk to.

"Good Night..." Ash mumbled as he was about to put his head on his pillow.

Misty bit her lip nervously, not really wanting to end her conversation this way.

"Ash...Wait..." she started.

The boy looked at her, a little concerned about how nervous Misty looked.

"I...just want you to know....that...I...it wouldn't be the same without you."

Ash looked at Misty in confusion, but before he could even think of a response,  
Misty was already laying on the ground.

For a moment, Scott just stared at the pieces of the broken window, his mind numb.

He could have sworn that he had wanted the window to break at that moment.  
He had practically willed for it to break.

It had happened a lot when he got especially upset or angry. Something in his room would move or shake....but not to this extent.

Experimentally, he stared at a flowerpot at the corner of the room. Clenching his fists, he stared at it and concentrated.

Break! Break!! BREAK! he willed silently. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead from the exertion.

The sound of the flowerpot shattering cut into the silence.

He did it.

His fists unclenched and he fell back into his pillow exhausted. Even as he gasped to catch his breath, one thought remained on his mind.

Things were going to change.

For days Scott practiced his skill, making sure that he concentrated more on moving things rather than shattering him. He really didn't want his grandmother to find out about his unique skill.

By the fist day, he was able to make his lamp float for a full minute. By the third day, he was able to keep his whole bed raised about a centimeter for the whole day with minimal exertion.

Even with all his practice, he didn't lose focus on Misty Waterflower.

On the fourth day, his grandmother came to his room when he was asleep,  
placing a dish of food on the table next to his bed.

Angrily she shook him awake.

Scott was jolted awake.

Without thinking, he grabbed onto his grandmother's arm, willing whatever was waking him up to go away.

There was a sudden flash of light, which blinded him for a moment, knocking him to the ground.

The sudden sensation of falling caught him by surprise.

Wasn't he supposed to be on the bed?

Shaking his head from the confusion, he looked up and saw.....himself on the bed.

"What the-?!" he exclaimed, suddenly shocked at how different his voice sounded...Like a woman's. He looked at his hand and gasped.

He was in his grandmother's body!

He slowly got to his feet, grinning as he walked around the room.

If he still had his powers, he could switch with Ash right now and...

He held his breath for a moment to calm himself before he looked at a nearby television screen intently.

He focused on it......and nothing happened.

Groaning, he racked his brain on finding a way to get Ash to come to him. He would have to have his grandmother switch him back so he could have his powers again, but if Ash came close enough to him so he could touch him...

He could send a letter! According to the article, Ash was in pallet town,  
resting up after his victories.

He fumbled around, searching for a piece of paper, some envelopes and stamps,  
before he sat down on his desk and started writing.

Ash,

You're the only one who can help me

I heard about your recent victories....and I know that you're really strong

My grandmother is keeping me prisoner in her home, and I need to get out so I can return home.

I can't call my parents because I'm in a training journey and they will make me stop if they find out.

Please help me.

From

Anonymous.

ps. I am at the attic.

He winced at the fact that he had to flatter Ash so much, but he had to make it sound desperate.

Smiling, he mailed the letter and walked back to his bedroom.

Scott took a necklace from his grandmother's jewelry box, and placed it around the neck of his sleeping grandmother.

He would get in trouble for stealing it, but it would be much better than having his grandmother finding out about his powers and ruining his plan.

He had to wait for an hour before she finally woke up.

He sat patiently while she panicked over the fact that she was currently in Scott's body.

"What's going on?!" she finally spat out after a few shocked exclamations.

"I think you're necklace did it....when I touched your arm...I can't change us back.  
but if you grab my arm and will me away, you can do it. Unless you give me the necklace."

"No way!" She spat out, predictably.

Scott pretended to look disappointed but inside he was smiling because she was following his plan perfectly.

"This better work." She muttered sourly.

"It will." he promised, trying to sound fully confident.

He was relieved when she grabbed his arm and a flash of light filled the room.

Misty raised a suspicious eyebrow as she stared at Ash's letter.

"I don't know Ash....Something seems strange about it..."

"I can't just ignore it!" Ash cried, "This person is in trouble!"

"But....why YOU?!" Misty cried, "There are stronger guys that they could ask for help."

Ash glared at her. "Oh REALLY?!"

"Um.....Ash..Misty..." Brock started out nervously.

"WHAT?!" both of them yelled simultaneously.

"oh....nothing..." Brock whimpered, deciding wisely to stay away from this battle.

"Okay, Misty, if I manage to save this guy, you will have to acknowledge that I am a strong guy."

Misty grinned at the challenge. "And if I you can't, you get a stronger to person to help AND you will be my personal slave for the week!"

"DEAL!" Ash yelled, shaking Misty's hand vigorously.

The house wasn't very far from pallet town, and it was pretty easy to find because of it's large size.

Misty smiled as Ash looked at its size nervously.

"Hey, didn't you plan on climbing in through a window at the top."

Ash pouted at this, but without a single thought, he walked up to the front door...

and knocked.

"I think you're going to have a personal slave this week." Brock whispered.

Ash glared in Brock's direction until an old lady opened to door.

"Hello, I'm in Pidgey Scouts and I am selling some candy for our troupe!" Ash said with a smile.

An image of Ash wearing a pidgey scout's uniform came to mind. Misty covered her mouth to avoid laughing. A part of her found the image kind of cute.

"Get out of my property, brat!" the lady hissed in a tone fierce enough to cause Brock and Misty to shiver.

Ash ducked the accompanying swing of her fist, and rushed under her arm into her house.

"He's in..." Brock gasped.

"She's gonna catch him." Misty glared.

The woman was surprisingly fast for her age, but Ash managed to evade her as he ran up the stairs to the top floor with her at his heels.

He searched frantically for an entrance to the attic, when he saw a cord hanging at the end of the hallway. He jumped up a few times, but he could reach it.

He could hear the woman running up the stairs before he grabbed a broom that was laying on the floor and used it to bring the stairs in the attic down.

He could hear her yelling a few curse words, before he ran up the stairs and reached the attic.

"Hey! Is anybody here?!" he cried out, looking around in confusion. It was so dark....maybe he got the wrong room.

"You came!" a boy's voice called out in relief.

Relieved, Ash ran to the boy, and reached for his arm to help him up.

Ash cried out suddenly in pain as a light suddenly blinded him before everything went dark.

TO BE CONTINUED

I went forever and a day without an update......so um...I dunno...I just wanted to work on something today...


	4. Switch

The Trade 

Chapter 4 "Switch"

Ash opened his eyes slowly, trying to adjust slowly to the sudden change in light. It didn't take too long because the room was fairly dark. When he was finally focused, Ash looked around the room in confusion.

"Where...?" Ash whispered. Everything seemed so strange to him. Was it all a dream?

A sudden pain shot up his spine, reminding him that it was certainly not a dream.

However, he couldn't fully convince himself that this was reality.  
The pain was definitely real, but everything just felt..wrong.

He sat up, trying to shut out how his arms protested from the action it took to support his body in sitting position with a back that wouldn't cooperate.

He pushed aside the sheets that had been covering his lower body,  
when he let out a small gasp that betrayed his true horror.

His legs were pale and bone thin to the point of grotesqueness, and they were covered with long scars.

His heart thudded harder and harder against his chest.

"What happened to me..?" he whispered, barely breathing out the words.  
He started to breath faster and faster, hyperventilating.

"No..no..NO!" he screamed, refusing to believe what he had seen. Ash tried to pull himself out of the bed and onto his feet, but his legs shuddered from a newly found pain.

Ash gritted his teeth, biting his lip hard enough to nearly make it bleed. He wouldn't fall. He refused to.

Finally, his legs couldn't take anymore abuse as they buckled, and Ash collapsed to the ground.

Ash started to sob softly on the ground, not even making any attempts to get up from the ground.

At the corner of his eye, he could see a mirror hanging over a large,  
wooden dresser. The mirror was cracked at the right corner, but it would still suit its purpose.

Ash half crawled, half dragged himself towards the dresser. For a moment, he just sat there, breathing hard , the action taking a great toll on him. Ash shuddered at the fact that he got tired so easily.  
During his whole pokemon journey, he always had an abundance of energy.

Finally, he pulled himself up so that his elbows rested on the dresser, and he was facing the mirror.

He gasped softly as all his denial faded at the image on the mirror.  
He reached out toward the mirror, as though he wanted to touch it to prove that it was real.

"It's..It's..me.." he whispered, smiling even through the tears. In a strange way he was comforted by the familiarity of the image. His face was the only thing that remained the same, aside from the longer hair.

Ash decided to try to walk again, but he suddenly stumbled forward and hit the mirror with his arm. Ash bit back a cry of pain as the mirror shattered, a few shards cut painfully into his right arm.

He grabbed his injured arm and curled up into a ball, trying to cradle it softly, while pressing it tightly against his chest. He was almost too wrapped up in his hurt arm to notice the doorknob jiggling slightly.

"What's going on up here?!" a cold voice asked sharply. It was filled with so much venom, that a cold shiver passed down Ash's spine.

"N-Nothing..." Ash whimpered after a brief silence.

He could hear a small growl from the other side of the door. Don't come in..Don't come in... Ash begged in his head. He had a really bad feeling about the person from the other side of the door.

"I don't believe you, boy!" the voice growled. The owner of the voice pushed open the door.

"No...! Don't..!" Ash cried feebly, even though it was too late to protest anymore.

A woman, appearing to be in her fifties, stood at the doorway, staring down at Ash with an angry expression on her face. She carefully looked around the room, noticing the glass shards on the floor with an expression of rage and malice on her face.

"Making trouble, I see.." she grunted, kicking a shard of glass harshly, making it bounce against the wall before shattering into smaller pieces. "I can't believe you broke another mirror!" she screamed.

Ash decided that denying everything would not be the right way to go.  
This woman didn't seem like the type that would believe anything she didn't want to believe. "I..I'm..sorry.." he stammered nervously,  
wondering what the old woman meant by, another mirror.

The woman just stared at him with her cold eyes.

Ash fidgeted nervously under her dark stare. "I'm..sorry..?" he said again, with a little confusion in his voice.

The woman just picked him up, and threw him not too gently back onto his bed.

"Don't be fresh with me ever again." she said with acid in her voice.  
"Just because you had to be smart, you won't be receiving dinner today."

She slammed the door hard enough to make Ash envision the room shaking.

The doorknob clicked as the woman locked the door.

"What the hell is going on?" Ash whispered, hoping that somehow the answer could come to him, by asking this question out loud.

He was only answered by silence.

End Part

Yeah. I took forever. But now I finally got the plot rolling.....


End file.
